Poetry, what is it?
To define poetry is hard because with poetry, comes ambiguity. However, because I am asked, I will try my best. Poetry is a composition (oral or documented) of creative and imaginative writing. It is the careful selection of words which are then thrown together in the most aesthetically pleasing way. What is distinctive and important to poetry tends to evade the set standards on writing because poetry needs not refer to the AP Stylebook of grammar, it is a free art. Poetry calls for no guidelines, poetry just is.
Coleridge said, “… Poetry is the best words in their best order.” I believe it.
I am drawn to poetry, especially oral poetry with an irresistible momentum through the art of performance. It is nearly impossible to convey to the reader how the author intends for words are to be said past what the text shows the reader, and often times meaning can be lost in such visuals, as we subconsciously analyze line breaks, word choice, punctuation, etc… Fact is, we are not going to read a poem the way the writer wants it to be heard. We are not within the writer’s head and can’t possibly guess where the inflection is to be applied (when to speed up, when to slow down, what words to say louder, softer). Varying stylistics and performance keys are contingent upon the reader’s personal connection to the poem. Emotion will be applied where emotion is due.
Performance poetry is very difficult to replicate on the page. Although ethno poetics serves as a useful guide, the real beauty is found among the sound waves of a speaker’s voice. The performance of a poem is one moment in time, whereas a poem on a page can be revisited and explored at the reader’s leisure. A good oral poet uses strong, accurate, well-placed words that force the listener to feel and then internalize the writer’s emotion and intentions. Choosing just the right words and placing inflection on select words or phrases for meaning, connotation, and sound make a poem memorable. The tone and expression that which the words are read become guides to the nuances of feeling that lie between, above, around, and beneath the spoken words. Perfect words make a poem reverberate and speak (excuse the pun) to the listener.
A good poem surprises the senses, stirs emotions, and startles imagination. A good poem is an act of discovery. A good poem captures a moment or memory; it’s in essence, a word photograph. A good poem has the power to, in just one short reading, remind us how it feels to breathe water, crash to the depths of misery, or be intoxicated with overwhelming emotion. A good poem is a snapshot of the most forgettable and the most unforgettable moments in our lives. Poetry widens vision. And a good poem, spoken by the poet her/himself is about expression and content. The poet speaks with passion that comes naturally through the emotion behind the words.
Poetry, like other form of art, is an extension of the soul. I’ve never really thought about keys to my performances. I never sat down and thought “this is how I should say this word; this is how I should say that word.” I simply breathe the work and my emotional connection to the piece, speaks for itself. This makes it hard for me to explain why I chose to emphasize certain points of the performance and not others. It’s not through thought that I speak, but through feeling. As egotist as it sounds, I don’t care so much about how the audience hears my work, but more so how it makes me feel. Poetry is self-expressionist and self-satisfying. .
When I listen to a recording, I notice that the dynamics of my voice vacillate from a very low, soft, trailing off of a sentence to sudden booms. As I gave it a few more listens, I discovered that, ya know, I don’t really like my voice. So The poem I chose to record is one that holds layers and layers of meaning, especially to me. It’s a self-reflective expression of my growth as a person over the past year. I have gone new directions and learned wonderful things and really developed a sense of self. I couldn’t be happier in my current state and I have performance poetry, fellow students in the English department, and Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead” to thank.
The poem is, as you heard, laced with art imagery. It acknowledges everything that has affected me and forced me to change as a person. It’s an invitation for each genuine person that steps foot into my life to leave a brushstroke upon my soul, essentially re-creating me. It talks of my soul’s rebirth, washed clean from all that was. It’s about new beginnings and personal growth and my discovery of how much control I truly have over my life; complete. When I perform this piece, I am truly overwhelmed with a sense of satisfaction.